What setting to cook a pancake on?

Including Griddle Temperature, Cook Times, and Other Tips

Once you learn how to make pancakes from scratch, you can delight your family with homemade pancakes of every variety.

Truth be told, pancakes are among kids' most-requested breakfast foods, especially when they have friends sleeping over. And our pancakes never fail to satisfy the kids! Depending on the season, you may even want to try pumpkin pancakes for a whimsical twist.

Follow these tips, and you'll know how to make perfect pancakes every time.

Griddle Temperature For Perfect Pancakes

• A griddle with temperature control is the best tool for cooking pancakes. We like to use an electric skillet. Set the temperature to 375 F when preheating, then turn it down to 370 or 360 F once you start to cook the pancakes.
• If you don't have an electric skillet or griddle, use a heavy cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat.
• Flip at the right time: Look for bubbles on top and light browning around the edges, after about 2 to 3 minutes. Then flip and continue to cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
• It's okay to peek to see if they are browned on the bottom. If the pancakes are too floppy to flip, they aren't cooked enough. If they are getting brown before they're ready to flip, turn down the heat.
• Try making one test pancake first to see if the griddle or skillet is the right temperature. Invariably, the first pancake ends up being the worst one anyway.

Other Tips For Making Perfect Pancakes

• Even though it's a pain, it's important to mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in separate bowls before combining them.
• Let the batter rest 5 to 15 minutes before cooking.
• For really light and fluffy pancakes, separate the eggs. Add the egg yolk(s) where the recipe calls for eggs to be added in. Beat the egg white(s) separately, and fold in at the very end.
• Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to make nice-sized pancakes that are consistent.

Things to Avoid When Making Pancakes

• Don't overmix the batter. This will cause the pancakes to turn out tough.
• Don't let the griddle or skillet get too hot! This will cause the pancakes to burn before they're cooked through.
• Don't add the butter or shortening until after the griddle or skillet has been preheated.
• Don't go overboard with butter or shortening. One tablespoon is enough for 12 to 16 pancakes, or leave it out entirely.
• Don't press down on the pancakes while they're cooking.
• Don't overflip. If you let the pancakes cook until golden on the first side, there's no need to flip multiple times.

Serve pancakes up with crispy diced potatoes and migas (Mexican scrambled eggs) for a full and hearty breakfast!

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There’s nothing better than settling into the weekend with a deliciously comforting breakfast. Specifically, a breakfast that involves pancakes! From a stack of thick and fluffy buttermilk pancakes to light and delicate ricotta pancakes to a luxurious Dutch baby pancake — they all fit the bill. Just don’t forget the syrup.

The key to great griddle pancakes, however, is technique. Here are some tips for getting it down just right and avoiding some common mistakes.

1. Overmixing the batter.

You know that urge you get to keep mixing that batter until the lumps are gone and it’s totally smooth? Fight it as hard as you can. In fact, avoid it entirely.

When you mix the wet and dry ingredients together, gluten starts to develop. And the more you mix the batter, the more the gluten continues to develop. So what happens? The result of overworked batter is a stack of tough and chewy pancakes instead of the light and fluffy ones you were probably dreaming about.

→ Follow this tip: Mix the batter just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined, and there are no more visible wisps of flour. The batter will likely be lumpy, and that’s okay.

2. Not resting the batter.

You’re so close to a blissful pancake breakfast, it seems like a cruel joke to wait a little longer. It’s a small step, but a crucial one, and one that should not be skipped over. No matter how hungry you are.

The resting period, which can range from five to 30 minutes, depending on the recipe, plays two roles. The gluten that was activated during mixing rests and relaxes, and also, the starch molecules in the flour absorb the liquid in the batter, ultimately giving it a thicker consistency.

→ Follow this tip: Good things come to those who wait. And, yes, that saying also applies to pancakes. It might seem trivial, but resting the batter is an important step that gives the gluten time to relax and settle down. In other words, it makes for pancakes that are more soft and tender, and this is especially important with crepes and Dutch baby pancakes. Use this time to clean up, set the table, or prep your toppings.

3. Not starting with a hot-enough pan.

A sign of a good pancake, in my opinion, is one that is delicate and buttery-crisp around the edges with a soft, fluffy interior. But if you start with a pan that’s not quite hot enough, instead of forming a lightly crisped exterior, the batter will start to soak up the butter or oil that’s in the pan and get greasy.

→ Follow this tip: Give your pan some time to get good and hot evenly.Before adding the batter the pan, the butter or oil should be very hot but not smoking. If you’re not quite sure if the pan is hot enough, don’t be afraid to make a small test pancake first.

4. Setting the heat too high.

High heat doesn’t cook pancakes faster, it cooks them unevenly with burnt outsides. The pan needs to be hot, but make the mistake of setting the temperature too high and the bottoms are likely to burn while the inside remains raw and doughy.

→ Follow this tip: Setting your stove to the right temperature is one of the keys to great pancakes. The pan needs to be hot, but that doesn’t mean the heat needs to be cranked up to high. For a well-cooked pancake with a golden-brown outside, and an inside that’s soft and cooked through, keep the heat set to medium.

5. Flipping your pancakes too soon and too often.

You might be tempted to flip once the bubbles start to appear, but it’s not quite time. Give it another minute.

Pancakes should be flipped once, and only once, during cooking. And as long as you didn’t flip them too soon, you won’t need to flip them any more than that. Flipping pancakes too many times causes them to deflate, losing some of that wonderful fluffy texture.

→ Follow this tip: Wait to flip the pancakes when the bubbles on the surface burst, and not a second sooner.

Essential pancake recipes!

What are your best tips for making pancakes?